Road surface texture is important for noise, rolling resistance, and wear

Christiaan Tollenaar: "M+P is familiar with all aspects of noise generation on road traffic. There are a number of factors that determine how much noise is generated by the road and a vehicle on it. Texture is a factor that gets more and more attention in the development of road surfaces. Not only because texture determines, at the source, how much noise comes from the tyres, but also because texture has an influence on rolling resistance and hence on fuel consumption and CO2-emission from cars and trucks. Besides that, a texture measurement can tell when it is time for maintenance. In summary: a texture measurement gives interesting and useful information. Because we decided that texture measurements could be done better and easier, we built the equipment ourselves."

Good texture measurement for quieter and cleaner traffic

Texture measurements can tell us a lot about the road surface. Municipalities and provinces can use the measurements to quickly determine the condition of their highways and decide whether maintenance is required. Road builders can use texture measurements and the associated data to develop quieter road surfaces. Rolling resistance is a topic that is increasingly being addressed when it comes to cleaner traffic. The exact relationship between rolling resistance and texture needs further investigation, but it is certain that texture can contribute to fuel savings.

Equipment that makes you wiser

M+P likes to develop and build itself. This is especially true if we see points for improvement in existing equipment. We wanted to make texture measurement more practical and cheaper so developers and administrators of roads could use the measurements quickly and more often. We also wanted to ensure the results were easy to interpret. We therefore developed two measuring devices: one suitable for long stretches of road and the other for measurement at a specific point (stationary level). The long distance measuring device can be linked easily to the CPX; the compact trailer from M+P that measures road surface noise production and links it to the properties of the road surface. See also flashm.